Aminophosphate precursors for the synthesis of near‐unity emitting InP quantum dots and their application in liver cancer diagnosis

InP quantum dots (QDs) are a promising and environment‐friendly alternative to Cd‐based QDs for in vitro diagnostics and bioimaging applications. However, their poor fluorescence and stability severely limit their biological applications. Herein, we synthesize bright (∼100%) and stable InP‐based cor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Exploration (Beijing, China) China), 2022-08, Vol.2 (4), p.20220082-n/a
Main Authors: Zhang, Yanbin, Lv, Yanbing, Li, Lin‐Song, Zhao, Xue‐Jie, Zhao, Mei‐Xia, Shen, Huaibin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aqueous solutions
Biocompatibility
bioimaging
Cadmium
Cost analysis
Decomposition
Diagnosis
Fluorescent indicators
Heavy metals
Hepatocytes
Image quality
Immunoassay
in vitro diagnostics
InP quantum dots
Ligands
Liver cancer
Medical diagnosis
Medical imaging
Optical properties
Oxidation
Probes
Quantum dots
shell engineering
Spectrum analysis
Toxicity
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Summary:InP quantum dots (QDs) are a promising and environment‐friendly alternative to Cd‐based QDs for in vitro diagnostics and bioimaging applications. However, their poor fluorescence and stability severely limit their biological applications. Herein, we synthesize bright (∼100%) and stable InP‐based core/shell QDs by using cost‐effective and low‐toxic phosphorus source, and then aqueous InP QDs are prepared with quantum yield over 80% by shell engineering. The immunoassay of alpha‐fetoprotein can be detected in the widest analytical range of 1–1000 ng ml−1 and the limit of detection of 0.58 ng ml−1 by using those InP QDs‐based fluorescent probes, making it the best‐performing heavy metal‐free detection reported so far, comparable to state‐of‐the‐art Cd‐QDs‐based probes. Furthermore, the high‐quality aqueous InP QDs exhibit excellent performance in specific labeling of liver cancer cells and in vivo tumor‐targeted imaging of live mice. Overall, the present work demonstrates the great potential of novel high‐quality Cd‐free InP QDs in cancer diagnosis and image‐guided surgery. Environment‐friendly InP core/shell quantum dots (QDs) with quantum yield of ∼100% are prepared by aminophosphate precursors. The limit of detection of alpha‐fetoprotein for in vitro diagnostics, specific labeling of liver cancer cells, and in vivo tumor‐targeted imaging of live mice are comparable to that of the state‐of‐the‐art Cd‐QDs‐based probes.
ISSN:2766-8509
2766-2098
2766-2098
DOI:10.1002/EXP.20220082